VISIT US

We love visitors and we would love for you to come see our work in person. Additionally, visiting is one of the best things you can do to help strengthen the community and protect all elephants who live here.

Reteti Elephant Santuary is located on the Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya. It is an eight-hour drive from Nairobi. We do have our own airstrip, so it is also possible to arrive via chartered plane from Nairobi, one of the local airports here (Nanyuki, Lewa Downs, or Kalama Samburu) or from the lodge where you are staying. Planes can be chartered through Tropic Air Kenya or Boskovic Air Charters.

Visiting hours are between 8.30 a.m. and10 a.m. and between 11.30 a.m. and 1 p.m.. It is important that you arrive promptly at 8.30 a.m. or 11.30 a.m. for the full experience. We ask that you wear green if possible.

During your visit, you will paired with a keeper who will accompany you the entire time to tell you about our work and answer any questions. From a special viewing platform, you will watch the elephants come in from their walk to receive their bottles and then have mud hole playtime. Afterwards, you will be given a behind the scenes tour of the sanctuary.

The conservation fee for the visit is $20 USD per person for foreign visitors and 150/- Kenyan Shillings for Kenyan residents.

We are open year round for visitors, but rains in April and May can make the roads difficult to impassable, and many lodges in the area shut completely during these months. Thus, it is better to plan to come see us during other times of the year.

It is vital that you let us know in advance when you'll be coming so we can be prepared to receive you. Ideally, you will be able to give us at least a week's notice.

Email info@retetielephants.org to reserve your spot or with any questions you may have about visiting.

VOLUNTEERING

We are so grateful that there are people all over the world who want to dedicate their time and energies to help the elephants directly at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. However, Reteti Elephant Sanctuary does not have a volunteer program.

There are a number of reasons why we cannot have a volunteer program. Firstly, as we are a community run sanctuary, all volunteers and staff would need to come from the local Samburu community.

The other reason we do not have a volunteer program is to insure the best possible outcome for every elephant in our care. It is vital to limit human wildlife contact to dedicated keepers who will remain with the elephants for the length of their stay. Having people come in and out all of the time would be difficult on the calves. Further, limiting human contact helps insure a successful re-introduction to the wild, which is the goal of all of our work.

Nevertheless, there are lots of ways to get involved. One of the biggest things one can do is visit. Visiting helps strengthen the whole community and makes the elephants a valuable part of the economy. This makes them better protected overall. You can also donate via our website. Every dollar we receive goes to caring for and protecting these incredible creatures, both at the sanctuary and in the wild. We rely on donations from people like you to do the work we do. Finally, you can help spread the word about the work we do with your community, friends and family by sharing our stories, photos and videos widely on social media and by talking about our work.